A/N: 100 reviews for A Reccuring Nightmare with Popcorn! Whoo-hoo! Thank you all so much. I appreciate all your feedback, from "update soon" to the in-depth critiques. So, even though I usually get annoyed with authors who list all of their reviewers, I'm going to do it anyway. A big thank you to: miladyRanger, Radon65, aka gyrfalcon, iEspeon, CupcakeAlchemist, GraysonPaladin, granasaber master, , Kyleigh, Sydney the Sydster, Anon, Dennisthepinkgoldfish, skywiseskychan, Maya Sushi, Akira Harnett, KEdakumi, FireSenshi2, EekiCrazyMoon, Summer Spent in Pandemonium, Mineral Rabbit, Hideout Writer, Tigrette, Akira, Asterna, freedomtoaster, KARASU25, Hylian Medli, REDB, Wraithrage Ragnarok, NotLifeKing666, annie2013 and the person who didn't bother with a username when they reviewed anonymously! I really appreciate all of your support…your feedback really helps, and getting reviews just makes my day. Special thanks goes out to miladyRanger, who's acted as a sounding board and has helped keep me sane this year. Also to Hideout Writer, who listens to me complain about writers block and has put up with my lack of updates on the stories he was actually interested in.
So, this is your one-shot, a conversation between Ed and Radar about superheroes that takes place during the time-skip in A Recurring Nightmare with Popcorn, between chapters 7 and 8. I hope you all enjoy it!
Heroes
"To us, you are a hero." –Charlie (a soldier under Mustang's command in Ishbal), FMA
Ed and Radar were sitting in the mess tent after lunch, both taking well-deserved breaks—Ed from research, and Radar from paperwork. Somehow, Ed wasn't exactly sure how, they'd gotten on the subject of superheroes…something he'd never even heard of before.
"So, let me get this straight…superheroes are people with special powers who protect everyone else from other people with special powers?" Ed asked. "And they're what your comics are about?"
Radar nodded enthusiastically. "My favorite's Captain America…he's really strong, and he fights Nazis!"
…Nazis? Ed wondered to himself. Countries around here had really odd names…
"Are there superheroes in Amestris?" Radar asked eagerly.
Ed thought about it for a moment. He'd always preferred alchemy texts to comic books, even in the half-remembered times when his life didn't revolve around restoring his brother's body, so if Amestris had anything like superheroes, he didn't know. But people with special powers who protected people from other people with special powers…
Ed grinned. He knew a few people like that.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Radar watched as a wide grin spread across Ed's face.
"I can think of a few," the blond boy stated mysteriously.
"You gonna tell me about them or what?" Radar asked impatiently. Ed had that look he always got, right before he told a really good story…the look that had preceded the tale of how Hawkeye got her dog…or how Ed and his brother had gotten stranded in the mountains with one of his friends and helped deliver a baby. Ed was a really good storyteller, as good as Pierce, even. When he told a story, he imitated the people in it, and made big gestures…you found yourself being sucked into the story even if you weren't interested. Radar stared at Ed in anticipation as the blond began.
"Well, there's this one guy…he's really, really tall…I haven't seen anyone here as big as him, and, boy, is he strong!" Ed said. "He can knock someone out with one punch, if he tries, and he has special gauntlets that let him transmute, I mean, turn things into other things when he punches them."
Wow… Radar thought. Superman can't do that! "What kinds of things?" he asked aloud, hoping Ed would continue.
"Big spikes, or walls…whatever he needs, I guess," Ed said, sounding unsure. "I never did get a good look at the arrays on those gauntlets of his…" he continued, trailing off.
"What?"
"N-nothing!" Ed said quickly. "Anyhow, he's called Strong-Arm, 'cause of how strong he is. He has this weird habit of taking off his shirt during fights, and he gets a little…overexcited about things, but he cares a lot about everyone around him."
"Wow," Radar said. "Why does he take off his shirt?"
"The h*** if I know," Ed said. "He's pretty big on tradition, so maybe it's something his family does."
"Does the rest of his family have powers, too?"
"…I don't think so…" Ed said thoughtfully.
"Who else is there?"
"Hmm…well, there's another one who always calls herself a housewife…"
"A housewife?" Radar asked skeptically. Great, a girl superhero. All of the ones he'd read about were really lame.
"She's in her own class of housewives, though," Ed said, almost fondly. "She can win a fight while reading a cookbook and giving a science lesson. Opponents twice her size don't even make her blink. And she once stopped a flood all by herself."
"By…herself?" Radar asked, interested in spite of himself.
"Yep, she just clapped her hands and made a dam come out of the ground," Ed confirmed. "She's a great teacher, too. She teaches other people who have powers and takes care of them. Almost like a mom…"
"Superheroes aren't like moms!" Radar said. "They protect people and fight and stuff."
"Superheroes are exactly like moms," Ed corrected. "Moms protect their kids, and they'll fight to keep them safe if they have to."
Radar thought about it. "That actually makes sense…"
"'Course it does," Ed said, matter-of-factly. "Anyhow, the Housewife taught another superhero…um…Soul, yeah, that's it, Soul. He wears armor all the time." Ed's enthusiastic expression turned slightly pained, and Radar wondered what was so bad about armor.
"So that people can't tell that it's him in the armor?" Radar asked. Captain America did that, too, only he didn't wear full armor…just a helmet.
"Well, it's more like…he can't take it off," Ed said quietly.
"How does he sleep, then?" Radar asked, thinking that sleeping in a suit of armor would be really uncomfortable.
"He doesn't…he had a…accident…and it made it so he can't sleep or eat, and he has to wear armor all the time," Ed said, his eyes faraway. Then, he brightened, though Radar could tell he was forcing it. "But at least the armor means he can't be hurt by much of anything. If people shoot at him, the bullets just bounce back."
"Just like Superman!" Radar interjected, trying to distract Ed from whatever about Soul was making him upset.
"Yeah," Ed said, a half-smile forming on his face. "Like him."
"Anyone else?" Radar asked.
Ed was quiet for a few moments, his eyes taking on the slightly glazed appearance they always had when he was thinking.
"Well, I guess there is…one other," Ed said reluctantly. "But he's not much of a superhero at all. He's a jerk and a b****** and he never does his paperwork…"
"Superheroes in Amestris have paperwork?" Radar asked.
"You got a problem with that?" Ed demanded, looking more annoyed by the second.
"No," Radar said quickly. "Um, is something bothering you?"
"Not really…it's just…gah!" Ed said suddenly. "I HATE admitting that he's not a complete a**! But he isn't…"
"What kind of superhero is this guy?" Radar asked, intrigued.
"Like I said, he's a complete jerk," Ed said. "But he has this thing about protecting people…he can make fire by snapping his fingers, so people call him Flame. I guess…he acts like a jerk…but you can rely on him. He doesn't give up on people…" Ed trailed off, and looked down at the table, his expression turning serious. "I guess that's what I admire most about him."
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
There was a part of Ed's brain that was rebelling against the very thought of admiring Mustang. He didn't even like the guy, for crying out loud! But the man was an accomplished alchemist, Ed's equal in terms of ability, and his superior in experience. That was enough reason to admire him, right?
Except, of course, that his alchemical prowess had nothing to do with it, and if Ed was honest, he knew it. He'd been a bit more honest with Radar than he'd intended to be, and had inadvertently said some things that, until this moment, he hadn't even realized he thought.
But the more he thought about it, the more he realized it was true. The thing he admired most about Mustang was the fact that he didn't give up on anyone. If it wasn't for that particular trait, Ed would still be in Resembool, being pushed around the Rockbell house in a wheelchair by Al. Maria Ross and Havoc would be dead, and possibly Hawkeye, too. People always praised Ed's persistence, but Roy was persistent in his own way. Ed refused to give up on his own goals. Roy refused to give up on others.
And, in all honesty, Ed needed him to be that way. Because there was a part of Ed that would never forget Hohenheim leaving, and would always wonder if it was something about Ed himself that had made him want to do so. But as long as there was someone who wouldn't give up on him—not even when he was swearing a blue streak at him, not even when he destroyed half a town fighting a rouge alchemist and billed the military for repairs, not even when he was lying on the ground in a puddle of rain, defenseless, and waiting for Scar to end his life—if there was someone who wouldn't give up on him after all of that, there must be something about him that was worth believing in.
Superheroes, huh? In describing the people around him to Radar, Ed realized, he'd started to realize things about them that he hadn't really thought about.
Yes, Armstrong cried at the drop of a hat, and he had the weirdest ideas about proper attire—or lack thereof—for fighting that Ed had ever heard of, but he cared about the people around him, and he wasn't afraid of letting them know it. That was a kind of courage that Ed hadn't learned yet, especially in regards to Winry…
And, in a way, he realized, he did think of Teacher as a mother. She was a lot scarier than Trisha had ever been, but, even when she was putting him and his brother through the wringer, Ed had felt absolutely safe with her. She was the strongest person, male or female, that he knew, and he knew that she'd never let anything happen to him.
Also, he'd come to the rather jarring realization that he admired his brother, as well. Al couldn't feel anything—not pain, not warmth, not wind, not rain—but he never complained. Ed knew one thing for sure, and it was that he didn't deserve his younger brother. Because after everything that Ed had put him through, Al stayed upbeat and happy, and Ed knew why. Al knew that if Ed thought he was unhappy, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. So the younger Elric never said a word about his own situation; instead, he worried constantly over Ed's auto-mail and Ed's problems, as if they compared to the steel prison Al was locked in. Ed had deluded himself into thinking that he was staying strong for Al, when it was really the other way around—his younger brother was staying strong for him. Or maybe they were both staying strong for one another…once again, Ed was reminded of how much he missed his brother.
From across the table, Radar offered him a smile that was achingly familiar. How this American had the exact same smile as Al, Ed didn't know, but every time he saw it, it both reminded him of what he'd lost, and renewed his determination to get it back. Someday, he'd talk with Al like this, and Al would smile back, the exact same way that Radar was smiling now.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Ed was lost in his thoughts again, but Radar's mind was still filled with thoughts of the superheroes the boy had described. Strong-Arm, The Housewife, Flame, Soul…he had to admit, they had weird names, but they sounded really cool.
He wondered if Ed had any comics about them.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hawkeye sat in the corner of the mess tent, reading an old American newspaper. Radar and Ed hadn't even heard her entrance, but she'd caught a fair amount of their conversation.
She smiled to herself. She had always suspected that Ed, for all of his insults and criticism, actually looked up to the colonel. It was a pity she hadn't joined Breda's little betting pool on the subject—she needed more gun polish—but just the knowledge that she was right was satisfying.
Not to mention that she had a bit of a soft spot for Edward, and she liked the idea of him looking up to Mustang. The colonel would be a good influence…mostly. Ed wasn't likely to pick up his womanizing tendencies, anyway, if his performance around Winry was any indication.
A small smile remaining on her face, she opened the paper to the International News section and renewed her efforts to understand at least some of the local politics.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
~Omake~
(A/N: yes, an omake to a sidestory, I know. But this is just a funny idea one of my friends came up with that I wanted to include.)
1978, New York
Radar stared up at the building in front of him. He couldn't believe he was right in front of the Detective Comics building. He'd dreamt of coming here since middle school…
"What'cha looking at?" a voice asked.
"This is where they make Detective Comics, right?" Radar asked.
The man smiled at him. "That's right," he said. "Actually, I work here, as a writer. My name's Gerry. What's yours?"
"Um…Walter, only everyone calls me Radar," Radar explained. "Are you writing any comics right now?"
"Actually, I'm supposed to be coming up with an idea for a new hero for a comic, but I can't seem to think of anything…" Gerry said. "I was thinking about giving someone the power to change things into other things…"
"Oh, like Strong-Arm," Radar said, remembering a quiet afternoon in Korea and a certain golden-eyed boy.
"Strong-Arm?"
"I was in Korea, and I met this guy over there who was from a country called Amestris," Radar told him. "Strong-Arm was a superhero he liked, who could…what was the word he used…transmute things using gauntlets."
"Huh," Gerry said. "Interesting …"
"There was one called Soul, too, who had to wear armor 'cause of an accident, but it made him bulletproof," Radar continued. "Another one he liked was called Flame. He could make fire just by snapping his fingers…"
"Flame…Fire…Firestorm, maybe?" Gerry said, thinking aloud. "That would be a good name. And an accident…that would be a good origin story. I like the idea of transmuting, too…Thanks, Radar."
He was quiet for a few moments, then glanced at Radar again. "You must have been pretty young when you were in Korea."
"I was," Radar said, "but I think Ed—the guy who told me about the Amestrian comics—had me beat. He was fifteen when I met him, and he was a major."
"Really?" Gerry asked.
"Yeah. He was a researcher, mostly, but there were times…according to the people that came with him, he and his brother stopped a train-jacking by themselves."
"At fifteen?"
"I think Ed was younger then, actually, and Al was a year younger than him, if I remember…" Radar trailed off.
"A kid hero, maybe, or a researcher…" Gerry said absently. "Firestorm…accident…transmutation…You've given me some good ideas. Thanks!"
Radar waved at him when he walked into the building.
And that March, he bought the first issue of Firestorm, the Nuclear Man on the first day that it was out.
~End Omake~
A/N: Firestorm is a Detective Comics (DC) character with the power to transmute matter. When he debuted, he was a combination of a physicist named Martin Stein and a high school student named Ronnie Raymond, who were caught in a nuclear accident together, with Martin's consciousness ending up in Raymond's body, which now had superpowers. One of my friends is a comic book geek and noticed the similarities between Firestorm's powers and Roy's, and this omake was the result.
As far as the main story, I didn't mean for it to end up so angsty, honest. Ed just sorta started spilling his guts…ah, geez, the characters keep running off with the fic. Also, Radar's view on female superheroes is not my own—I happen to like a number of them. However, especially at that time, there wasn't such a wide selection of them and the male superheroes got most of the cool powers. Anyhow, I hope it was something like you expected it to be! If you think the genre's off, let me know…I wasn't really sure what to put it in…why isn't there an Introspection category? Most of my fics would be in it! Oh, dear, I'm babbling again…
Thanks again, everyone! Later!